His Juliet: An Age Gap Hurt Comfort Mafia Romance (Empire of Royals Book 2)

I stood outside the midtown apartment building. The streetlights cast a glow as a flurry of snowflakes swirled in the air.

A beautiful, quiet night.

But it wouldn’t stay that way for long, at least not for Chase Miller.

It had taken too long to track him down. I’d enlisted Sienna to help me, bribing her with the new handbag she’d been eyeing. Although, as soon as I’d told her who we were looking for, she’d agreed to help. No bribery needed.

Juliet’s rapist was going to die tonight, screaming.

I smiled as my inner monster rose to the surface, eager and bloodthirsty.

The lobby door opened, and I stepped forward to hold it for the woman exiting with her dog.

“Thanks,” she said with a smile, which I returned before slipping inside the building.

I took the stairs to the fourth floor. My nostrils flared as I stood outside apartment forty-seven. Years ago, Juliet had stood in this same place with all her trust and sweetness.

This man had betrayed it.

I picked the lock and stepped inside, holding the handle of my small backpack.

Chase sat on the couch in full view of the door. He jumped up and let out an indignant shout, but I covered the distance between us in a few steps and grabbed him by the throat.

His arms flailed, trying unsuccessfully to pry off my fingers.

I cocked my head, dispassionately watching his face turn bright red.

With one swift movement, I thrust him against the wall. His head snapped back and he let out a strangled groan. Hopefully, the hit was hard enough to cause a concussion, but I punched him in the stomach for good measure. He wheezed and choked.

I scanned the pathetic man before me. Stringy brown hair fell in his watery eyes and drool dripped onto his pubic hair beard. His mouth gaped as he attempted to speak. I loosened my grip on him just enough to hear his croaked words.

“Who are you?”

A slow smile spread across my face. “I’m the last face you’ll see before you die.”

Before he could respond, I grabbed his arm and pulled until I dislocated his shoulder. He dropped to the floor like a sack of flour. I curled my lip as he writhed and moaned.

“To answer your question, I’m here for Juliet.”

He gasped, eyes wide. “Who?”

I raised an eyebrow and let the silence hang between us.

His pleading grew more desperate. “Look, man, I don’t know who you’re talking about. You’ve got the wrong person.”

I kicked him in the balls. His scream cut off as he vomited from the pain.

I stepped back to ensure none of it got on my shoes.

“Juliet,” I repeated. “Early twenties. Brown hair with pink highlights. You brought her home two years ago.”

The flash of recognition in his eyes was the only confirmation I needed. I lifted him off the ground by his hair. He scrambled to get his knees under him as tears and snot ran down his face. I forced his head back until it was bent painfully. “You raped her.” My voice was cold as I submerged myself in the darkness. “You drugged and raped my girl. I’m going to enjoy making you suffer.”

“I’m sorry! She said she was single, I swear! I didn’t know she was yours.”

I snarled, holding myself back from wrenching his neck back hard enough to snap it. That would be too easy a death for him.

“You think you only have to respect women if they’re with a man?”

“No, that’s not what I⁠—”

I dropped him to the ground and grabbed the duct tape from my bag. “This will be so much better if I can’t hear your whiny little voice.”

“No, please, I’ll do anything!”

He cowered as I pressed the tape over his mouth before patting his cheek. “Don’t worry. I will honor your consent as much as you did Juliet’s. Now strip.”

When he didn’t move, I unsheathed my large knife and sighed. “Fine, I’ll do it for you.”

I cut off his t-shirt, not caring when I sliced his skin. His blood matched the red of his shirt.

“Want me to do the pants, too?” I asked.

That got him moving. Once he was naked, I kicked his chest and he fell hard on his back. I turned to my bag and Chase used that moment to try to sweep my legs.

He was unsuccessful.

I pressed my boot to his chest, keeping him painfully pinned. “You will regret that.”

I reached down and dislocated his other arm. The tape muffled his shrieks, and this time, when I turned towards my bag, he stayed where he was.

I pulled out several lengths of rope, tying them to his wrists and ankles. I had to be creative, finding various pieces of furniture to fix the ropes around until he was lying spread-eagled on the floor. I made sure they pulled hard on his dislocated arms.

I stood over him. “Do you feel like a big man now?”

His sobs were music to my ears.

I called our clean-up team to come to Chase’s apartment.

The former resident was dead and bleeding on the living room floor.

I crossed my arms, drumming my fingers as I studied the word I’d carved into his chest.

RAPIST.noveldrama

My lettering was improving.

Chase’s cock lay a few feet away from his body, shriveled and bloody. The monster inside me wanted to bring it to Juliet as a present. Luckily, I’d taken back enough control from the darkness to know my Juliet would be horrified by such a gift.

Just like she’d be horrified if she ever saw me like this—covered in blood with a depraved gleam in my eyes. Like my mom had been. Her terrified expression after I took revenge on the men who hurt her and murdered my father would forever be burned in my mind.

Before that day, I’d been the easy-going and playful jokester. Seeing my Mamma like that had awoken something dark in me. It had taken over with its thirst for blood and had never gone away.

But here was the secret that nobody knew: I liked the monster.

Surrendering to the darkness was like sinking into a cool lake on a hot day. I couldn’t control the world around me and couldn’t always keep the people I loved from getting hurt, but the monster knew how to respond. He didn’t shy away from violence and vengeance, and it made me powerful.

This was why I’d distanced myself from my mom all these years, even though I missed her. Even though it hurt us both. She’d seen too much, and I was too much of a coward to face her disappointment—for not saving my papà, not getting to her in time, and for the suffering it caused her to know the boy she raised had been tainted by darkness.

For the first time, the thought of returning to Juliet filled me with dread. What if I went home to her now and she saw the monster in me? Could she ever accept me like this?

I shook out my arms. At least she would be asleep when I got home. The monster would be fully put back in his box by morning.

A knock on the door told me the cleaners were here. It was time for me to return to my girl.